After being directly relegated from the Bundesliga, FC Schalke 04 said goodbye to eight players. In a statement on their own website, the Royal Blues thanked the loan players Tom Krauss (21; Leipzig), Alex Kral (25; Spartak Moscow), Moritz Jenz (24; Lorient), Éder Balanta (30; Bruges), Michael Frey ( 28; Antwerp), Jere Uronen (28; Brest) and Alexander Schwolow (31; Hertha) as well as Maya Yoshida (34), whose contract only runs until the end of the season.
If Krauss and Jenz stayed in the league, they would have had to buy, and Yoshida’s contract would have been automatically extended. In the case of Kral, however, it is already clear what will happen next: the Czech national player is once again on loan to Union Berlin, after which his contract in Moscow ends. The transfer without Spartak’s consent was made possible by the expansion of the contract rule for foreign professionals from Russian clubs as a result of the aggressive war against Ukraine. They are allowed to unilaterally suspend their contracts.
Tim Skarke (26; Union) and Sepp van den Berg (21; Liverpool), who are also on loan, are explicitly not among the players mentioned. Niklas Tauer (22) is on loan from Mainz until 2024 anyway.
TM community Talk about the Schalke squad planningIn the Schalke forum “We would like to thank every single player. Without them, without the entire team, the past few weeks and months would not have been possible. It’s always a shame when players leave the club,” said the new Schalke sports director André Hechelmann, adding with a view to the coming second division season: “We’re working hard to close the gaps that have arisen through our transfers and a team that is prepared for the tasks in the coming season.”
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